The Detroit News: Investigators want UM to answer how Chinese nationals conducted potential bioweapons research
Three House committee chairmen are investigating the University of Michigan's oversight of researchers from China who are accused of smuggling a potentially devastating plant fungus into the United States.
Michigan U.S. Reps. John Moolenaar of Caledonia and Tim Walberg of Tipton, chairmen of the House Select Committee on China and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, respectively, wrote to UM recently, saying they were "deeply alarmed" by the reports and criminal charges involving the Chinese nationals who allegedly intended to use the biological materials at UM laboratories.
The committees found that UM scholar Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend, 34-year-old Zunyong Liu, were conducting research at a university lab under UM professors funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Those professors, Ping He and Libo Shan, have received approximately $9.6 million in federal research funding, according to the letter.
"It is our position that Chinese researchers tied to the (People's Republic of China) defense research and industrial base have no business participating in U.S. taxpayer-funded research with clear national security implications — especially those related to dangerous biological materials," the lawmakers wrote.
They're asking the university to respond to two dozen questions and produce documents regarding its oversight, compliance practices, and any internal reviews and due diligence related to the faculty and researchers involved, including what steps UM is taking to ensure fundamental research at the university isn't being used to create bioweapons.
The House lawmakers are also urging the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation to review the grants awarded to the two UM professors.
To read the full article, visit: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/04/house-committee-members-want-um-to-answer-how-chinese-researchers-did-potential-bioweapons-research/84457557007/.